Norris Keen To Focus On Positives From MK Defeat

Luke Norris felt there were positives to take from Town’s 3-2 defeat to MK Dons on Friday but conceded that his side left themselves with far too much to do.

The Reds endured a nightmare start at Stadium MK in what was their final game of 2016 with Kieran Agard scoring twice inside the opening 35 minutes.

However, Norris’ second goal in his last three games got Town back into the contest before Nicky Maynard effectively wrapped up the three points for the Dons after the break, with Raphael Rossi-Branco’s second-half header proving to be in vain.

Town have now suffered defeat in their last two outings but Norris thought he and his team-mates were unlucky not to get something out of the game.

“We gave ourselves too much to do and if you score two goals or more away from home in any football match then you should really come away with something,” he said.

“There are some positives to take because going two goals down earlier in the season would have turned into three or four because it has gone like that sometimes.

“The third goal was crucial but even when it went in we still got back into the game and it was a great header from Rapha (Raphael Rossi-Branco).

“There was only one team towards the end who were going to score again and Jonny (John Goddard) was unlucky not to score – it was a good save by the keeper.

“It is frustrating that we haven’t got anything out of all that hard work.

“MK’s first goal has hit the bar and it has taken an eternity to come down but no one has reacted to it and you can’t do that at this level because you get punished.

“We are conceding too many goals and we aren’t scoring as much as we should also, but there are some positives to take and we did dig deep when we went a couple of goals down for one of the first times this season – we showed we can compete.

“MK have got a very good squad, very experienced but I definitely thought we should have got something out of the game.”

Norris showed quick instincts to convert from a tight angle to get Town back into the game on Friday, a strike which sent him to the top of the Robins’ goalscoring charts with four goals.

“The cross came over the keeper and it was at a real tight angle so I was really happy that it went in considering how tight it was,” he continued.

“I was happy with the goal but it is results we need.

“I’ve said before that I haven’t hit the back of the net enough and I’ve scored a couple of goals in the last few games so I just want that to continue now.

“If that can continue and we can pick up results then that is what we all need.”

Town open 2017 at home to Southend United on Monday (3pm Kick-Off) and Norris is confident of securing a much-needed three points and starting 2017 off with an almighty bang.

“They’ve been doing well, they’re in the top six and they are a very physical and direct side,” he added.

“But it will be a different game at home and we’ll have a lot more of the ball. We got a good point at Roots Hall in November and we need to start picking up some more points, so three points on Monday is what we need.

“We’re in a scrap at the moment but we’ve got enough quality and we know we are going to be alright because we’ve beaten the teams higher up the league, we just need to start doing that on a more regular basis.

“If we can improve our home form and pick up some wins then I think we’ll be alright.”